His Mistake
by delilah13407
Summary: One mistake led him to lose the most important person in his life. This was supposed to be a short story, but I've decided to continue it. Chapter two is now up.
1. Prologue

I know that I have a lot of stories I should be working on, but I just wanted to write something else. It's only a short story, but I would appreciate you all replying, please. Thanks a lot.

HIS MISTAKE

It had been his mistake, his fault. Most mistakes are redeemable. However, not when it comes to somebody else's life. She hadn't deserved it, she hadn't asked for it to happen. She had only asked to be his friend, his soulmate. How hadn't she known that it would have been a death sentence. After knowing him as long as she had, she should have known it was a relationship she couldn't survive. Now, she would never be given the chance to go back, to make a different choice. He wasn't even sure she would make a different choice if she could, she was that loyal. She would stick with him forever if she could, no matter what the consequences. He hadn't even tried to warn her. He was so glad that she noticed him that he had decided against giving her reason to change her mind, even if it were best. Now, she may have left this world thanks to his selfishness.

He felt his eyes watery with tears as his love's best friend started walking over to him. It was sickening, watching her, knowing she hadn't given a damn, knowing that she wasn't the least bit upset, knowing that on the inside, she was smiling. "Hello Whitney, to what do I owe the pleasure?" His grin was menacing as he looked at her.

She smiled devilishly. "Why so sour looking? It's not as if she hadn't deserved it. She should have known better, getting involved with you, that is. I tried to warn her, I told her you would be the death of her, and everytime, she got so defensive, defending you every step of the way, and look where that's gotten her. It's not as if she's being rewarded for her wasted time spent on you. And how she loved you. Do you think she would love you if she knew just what you did. And I'm just talking about her death, either. I'm sure she could understand that. But if she had known you were cheating on her, how do you think she would have acted?"

"You bitch!" His fists clenched at his sides. "She was more woman than you could ever dream of being. And I don't ever want to hear you disrespecting her again, do you understand me? As long as I'm around, you will always treat her with the respect she deserves, and nothing less." He turned away from her, once more looking at the words engraved on the tomb stone in front of him.

_Theresa Marie Lopez-Fitzgerald-Crane_

_1980-2005_

_Beloved daughter, sister, mother, and fiancee_

He bent his head, unable to hold back the sobs any longer. She was gone. How could she be gone? How was he supposed to wake up every morning, and not see her lying next to him? How could he live without seeing her smile, without comforting her, without supporting her, without being the fiancee that she had deserved to have by her side. He was surprised that Pilar had even agreed to have Crane added on her tomb stone, knowing all they'd done to her, all they'd taken from her. And he was one of them. Without her realizing it, he had taken so much from her himself. She had always claimed he was different, he was better than his family, when in reality, he was just like them, if not worse.

"God, Theresa, I love you so much...so much!" He cried, picturing her face before him. How he wished he could have grabbed onto, held onto her hopes.

He remembered seeing her turn to run after his confrontation. He remembered her backing away from him too quickly, losing her footing on the cliff they were standing on, he watched her slip, slowly fall, and then, she reached out, grabbed onto something. Her eyes had been so full of hope, only to rapidly lose it. He reached out, praying he'd be able to grab onto her, his prayers remained unanswered. The branch broke, she fell. The last sound he ever heard from her was a heart-breaking scream. A scream that would forever invade his dreams and haunt him at night. It would be his reminder forever, never letting him forget.

As he slowly bent down to kiss the tomb stone, the last thing he whispered to her was, "Goodbye my love!"

Well, what'd you all think. Please give feedback, thanks.

Denise


	2. Chapter 1

Ok, I know I said that this was going to be a short story, but I changed my mind. I've decided because there are a few people who want me to continue, so I think I'll give it a shot. Please let me know what you think.

CHAPTER ONE

"Daddy!" The five year old girl cried. "Daddy, the monsters are here!" Sierra Crane stood in the doorway, watching with pain as her niece screamed for her father. Nicholette Crane wasn't an ordinary little girl. She was a little girl without a mother, a little girl who had only her father in the whole world. At least, that's what she thought. Little did she know that it was almost impossible not to love her, impossible to not be there for her.

"What is it honey, what's wrong?" Sierra asked, her eyes shimmering with stubborn tears. "Won't you tell tia Sierra what's bothering you?" She asked painfully. The little girl looked at her with tears of her own.

"Where's daddy? I want daddy!" The girl said softly. "I want mommy too," she said quietly, almost to the point of not being heard. However, Sierra had heard her, and the tears now ran freely down her cheeks.

Before she could reply, she heard the front door open. "I think he's here now. I'm going to go talk to him, and then I'll bring him to you, okay?" Nicholette nodded her head, watching her aunt walk out of her room to talk with her father.

"Sierra, how was she?" Nicholas Foxworth Crane asked his sister when she walked into the living room.

"She's calling for you. She keeps saying that the monsters are coming and that she wants you…and Theresa!"

Nicholas went still. He had tried as hard as possible to try not to mention her name. He didn't want Nicholette to forget her, but he had figured it would be easier to stay off the subject for a little while. It had almost been two weeks since Theresa's funeral, and Nicholette hadn't spoken of her mother since. Nicholas was thankful, but he hadn't expected her to be holding her emotions in. "I'll go talk to her."

"You'd better, because I'm worried. It may be for no reason, but I'm really concerned for her mental health."

He walked into his daughter's room, feeling as if he were looking at Theresa all over again. She had the same golden skin and the same thick, dark, long hair.

"Hey honey!" He greeted the small child. "You wanna tell daddy what's wrong? Maybe I can help fix it."

"I saw the monsters, daddy, I saw them."

"It was only a bad dream, that's all."

"Can you read me a story? Whenever I had a bad dream, mommy would always read me a story." Her strong demeanor crumbled as she spoke of her mother.

"Of course I can." He said. She shook her head. "You don't want me to read you a story?"

"No, but there is something you can do for me."

"What's that?"

"You can bring back my mommy." She started puckering, unable to hold strong any longer. "I miss her daddy, I miss her so much. Please bring her back, please. I'll be a really good girl, I promise! I'll do anything you want if you just bring my mommy back."

Nicholas felt his eyes water. How was he supposed to react? How was he supposed to answer his daughter gently?

"If I could bring your mother back, I swear I'd do it in a heartbeat, I swear to you I would. But I can't. I'm so sorry Nikki…so sorry!"

Well, that's it for now. It looks like I'll be continuing this story after all. Please reply.

Denise


	3. Chapter 2

Okay, here's the next chapter. I hope you enjoy.

CHAPTER TWO

Looking at the man before her in disgust, Sierra Crane couldn't help feeling guilty. She could tell that he didn't want to be with her anymore than she wanted to be with him. Their parents had set it up for her to married to him, although she wanted another. He, too, had fallen in love with another, and was stuck in the loveless marriage with her. Every time she looked at him, she felt a surge of hatred, and had to keep reminding herself that it wasn't his fault. He was just as forced into this as she was, and she shouldn't be blaming her husband, when their parents had been solely responsible for the marriage to begin with.

She wondered how she had survived these past two years in the sham of a marriage that was hers. Then, she knew how it had been possible.

_Theresa._

Theresa, her best friend, had made it possible. She had been there, she had been the best friend anybody could have asked for. Sierra remembered many of the heart to hearts her and Theresa had. She had been there to talk to, she had listened, she had made it alright, she had stuck by the side of her friend through everything, but no longer would she be there.

Sierra hadn't a clue what would have happened, what she would have become had she not found a friend in Theresa, had Theresa not been there.

Sierra recalled the many times that her and her so called husband had argued, and there was only one place she could have gone. Theresa's. The Crane heiress never could have survived her marriage had it not been for the love in Theresa's heart, had it not been for Theresa's reassuring words, had Theresa not been there to remind her that there was always a light at the other side of the tunnel. Without Theresa, she would have ended up a bitter, heartless woman, a replica of her mother, the one person in the world that Sierra had promised not to become.

Sierra felt a tear slide down her cheek as she recalled the last thing that Theresa had ever, and would ever, tell her.

"_You're a survivor Sierra, that's why I'm so sure that you'll survive this. And always remember, no matter what, that I'll always be here…always!"_

"Are you okay?" Sierra looked at her husband, just now noticing that he was watching her every move.

"I'm fine." She muttered, turning away from him.

Dylan Banning looked at his wife, wondering where the sweet girl he once knew had gone, the girl that she had been before they had both been forced into marriage.

"You're really miserable, aren't you?" He hated knowing what their parents had done to them, to their friendship. They had been so close before they united their lives before God.

"What's it to you?" She asked coldly, instantly regretting how bitter she sounded. Whether she wanted to admit it or not, she sounded more and more like her mother, Ivy Winthrop, every day.

Dylan noticed her emotions, they were the same emotions that he felt every day of his life. Hatred, regret, fear, sadness, guilt, bitterness. He would give anything to go back in time, to change what their parents had done, to stop their parents from destroying their futures, their friendship. "I'm sorry!" He whispered before walking away, now leaving with the worse feeling of them all, loneliness. She felt so alone, something she never would have felt had Theresa still been just around the corner. But the facts were that Theresa wasn't there, and never would be again.

"Theresa, where are you?" She cried looking at a picture sitting on the desk. "I need you now, more than ever. We were so close."

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Nicholas Crane stared at the child that he and the woman that would forever hold his heart had created. Their daughter. The daughter that he would always cherish. He only wished that Theresa was here now, and yet, in some strange sense, he knew that she was. He only wished that things hadn't ended the way they had.

"Daddy, is aunt Sierra going to come visit us today?" Nicholette asked, glancing at her father.

Noticing his daughter looking at him expectantly, Nicholas shrugged. "I don't know, Nikki. She might."

Realizing that her father wasn't going to say anything else on the matter, Nicholette changed the subject. "Daddy, they hurt mommy, I saw them." Knowing that she had her father's full attention, the small child continued. "I saw them hurt her, daddy. She was crying, she was so sad."

Kneeling so that he was eye level to the small child, Nicholas felt his heart drop at what his daughter was trying to tell him. "Who hurt her, Nikki, who hurt her?"

"They did, daddy! That big, mean man that you always talk to on the phone. He has a mean voice, and he looked mad." Nicholette explained.

"What, no! That can't be." Nicholas replied, unable to believe what his only child was trying to tell him.

"Daddy they hurt her! They were going to kill her daddy, they made me watch them hurt her."

Nicholas closed his eyes, trying to rid himself of the images his daughter was planting. "Damn Alistair Crane, damn him to hell!"

I hope you all enjoy, and please reply. Thanks.

Denise


End file.
